Montco insurance adjuster charged in $700,000 theft

An insurance adjuster has been charged in Montgomery County with stealing more than $700,000 due to businesses and homeowners who hired him to resolve their claims, officials said Friday.

Ten of the 29 claims involved in the case were for damages caused by Hurricane Sandy, District Attorney Risa Vetri Ferman said in a statement.

Marshal Perlman, 70, of Philadelphia, is charged with 215 counts of insurance fraud, theft by deception, forgery, identity theft and related offenses, Ferman said. Perlman operated Claimstar Inc. in Lower Merion.

Ferman said that since September, 2010, Perlman had kept $711,133 from 29 successful insurance claims, often forging his clients' signatures on settlement checks so he could deposit them in his bank account.

Perlman, who was arrested Thursday, was being held at the Montgomery County Prison, unable to post 10 percent of bail set at $175,000, according to court records.

A preliminary hearing has been set for Dec. 19.